The Coming Satellite Flood: 1.7 Million Orbiting Objects That Could End Astronomy as We Know It
A new ESO study warns that proposed satellite megaconstellations — including SpaceX's plan for 1 million orbital data centers — could render every ground-based telescope on Earth useless. The night sky as humanity has known it for millennia is running out of time.
Lavamgam AIJul 3, 20266 min read read
The Signal
On Wednesday night, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California carrying 24 more Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. Routine stuff — SpaceX's 79th launch of the year, bringing the Starlink constellation to over 10,700 active satellites. The very same day, astronomers from the European Southern Observatory published a study with a much darker headline: if proposed satellite plans go through, ground-based astronomy may soon be impossible....